Plans in tatters, Arab leaders have few options

The two Mohammeds overseeing the battle against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen finally thought they were in a position to make a decisive play.

Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, who regards himself as the Gulf region’s unofficial mentor, had at last persuaded Ali Abdullah Saleh to switch sides.

It was an end to which Mohammed bin Zayed — MBZ, as he is known — had been working all year, and possibly longer, say some accounts. Mohammed bin Salman — MBS — was more reluctant. Saleh had double-crossed the Saudis before.